The M2 MacBook Air Doesn't Look So Modern Now

Just a couple months after everyone raved about how modern the new MBA looks, Apple introduces the Dynamic Island, instantly making devices with the notch look old and outdated. Kinda funny that they introduced the new MBA with a design they knew was on its way out...

Hmm.. Redesigning MacOS around Dynamic Island would be a herculean task. At times it would be eating even more out of the menu bar and it's already pretty cramped up there for some of us. Not going to say never, but I don't think we'll see the island coming for the Macs in a while, if ever.

Another argument against it is that the island stretching around all of which ways will be best looking with OLED, have flaws with mini-LED (Pro) and look kinda fake on LCD (Air)

The notch on the macbooks already has a distinct "boxier" look with a sharper roundness to its corners. I don't think they want us to confuse the two.

To be honest, I mostly run my M1 MBP Max without the notch, giving up a little bit of screen real estate in exchange for a working menu bar. If I'm working in an app where the extra vertical real estate is important I'll quickly switch resolution with JibApps Display (much my favourite of the third party display tools, as it's simple, elegant and has a great night mode with both software dimming and blue light dimming).

Bringing the awful Dynamic Island to macOS where there are so many ways to switch between apps (command-tab, exposé, recent apps, LaunchBar/Spotlight) would be creating a solution looking for a problem (i.e. there isn't one).

I don't see the Dynamic Island feature coming to the Macs. Apple already does a great job incorporating the notch into the menu bar without sacrificing screen space for apps. Apps actually get more screen space because they increased the height of the display to accommodate the notch and menu bar. And if you really wanted to, you can push the menu bar down to hide the notch.

With the Dynamic Island? Well, now you have a hole in the screen that sits lower than the notch...and would be covering up the UI in all apps.

I think the TouchBar was/is the Mac's version of Dynamic Island. It's still there on the 13-inch M2 MBP.

Yes the M2 air looks terrible without a hole punch in the display. Lol

Honestly I am not a fan of the hole punch/pill design. Aesthetically the notch just looks better. It would be great if they could just keep reducing the size of it.

Unless you do what Samsung does with just a single camera dot it doesn’t add any value. Pixels under the pill are basically useless.

What would be a lot better is no pill or notch and have it all work under and through the display. That would be cool.

Also apple needs to improve how notifications work not add a dynamic island. It looks really gimmick like to me. Like something Samsung would introduce not Apple.

Also if you have an air and sell it in a year you won’t lose much money and can just buy a new model so no problem.

calvin2006 said:

Just a couple months after everyone raved about how modern the new MBA looks, Apple introduces the Dynamic Island, instantly making devices with the notch look old and outdated. Kinda funny that they introduced the new MBA with a design they knew was on its way out...

Every new device apple sells is outdated the day they start selling it. It is why they are a trillion dollar company.

They always have the next best thing ready to go right after you get one.

Been that way for a long time.

The M2 MacBook Air Doesn't Look So Modern Now​

Tell that to all of the $5k M1 Max MBP owners. Lol

calvin2006 said:

Just a couple months after everyone raved about how modern the new MBA looks, Apple introduces the Dynamic Island, instantly making devices with the notch look old and outdated. Kinda funny that they introduced the new MBA with a design they knew was on its way out...

What are you even talking about? I understand that this is meant to start an argument but I'm failing to even see the fainted thread of logic here at all.

One is a computer, a new thin laptop.

The other is a feature on a phone.

There completely unrelated other than they involve a camera in the screen. This thread really should be removed as it's only purpose is to start an argument I'm not sure even the OP believes.

canadianpj said:

What are you even talking about? I understand that this is meant to start an argument but I'm failing to even see the fainted thread of logic here at all.

One is a computer, a new thin laptop.

The other is a feature on a phone.

There completely unrelated other than they involve a camera in the screen. This thread really should be removed as it's only purpose is to start an argument I'm not sure even the OP believes.

Click to expand...

I believe it. The notch is a disaster. Bringing it to the Mac lineup was ill-advised. People said it looked "modern" and "iconic" with the notch. That argument doesn't work anymore.

Of course bringing the dynamic island to the Mac is nonsensical. But so was bringing the notch to the Mac! I just wish people would admit the notch on the Mac was a bad idea. It doesn't look modern or iconic. It looks bad, and Apple should remove the notch and either have a bit more bezel at the top or find another way to include a camera.

Technerd108 said:

The M2 MacBook Air Doesn't Look So Modern Now​

Tell that to all of the $5k M1 Max MBP owners. Lol

OK. Those machines don't look so modern now, either. They look like a bad idea for housing a camera that should never have happened.

Those Macs are so good you can overlook the notch for what else they bring, but it's a pity you have to overlook a bad idea on a $5k machine.

calvin2006 said:

I believe it. The notch is a disaster. Bringing it to the Mac lineup was ill-advised. People said it looked "modern" and "iconic" with the notch. That argument doesn't work anymore.

Of course bringing the dynamic island to the Mac is nonsensical. But so was bringing the notch to the Mac! I just wish people would admit the notch on the Mac was a bad idea. It doesn't look modern or iconic. It looks bad, and Apple should remove the notch and either have a bit more bezel at the top or find another way to include a camera.

I'm not going to admit it because I don't think it's a bad idea. It's not ideal, certainly, but I stopped noticing it less than an hour into using it so it's a complete, and total, non-issue for me.

Lyphin said:

Totaly different situation as MBA is without Touchscreen.

Shh ... don't state the obvious.

canadianpj said:

What are you even talking about? I understand that this is meant to start an argument but I'm failing to even see the fainted thread of logic here at all.

One is a computer, a new thin laptop.

The other is a feature on a phone.

There completely unrelated other than they involve a camera in the screen. This thread really should be removed as it's only purpose is to start an argument I'm not sure even the OP believes.

Click to expand...

100% agree. It took OP four days to come up with this, too.

Next will be a complaint that the MBA doesn't have a wrist band like the Apple Watch.